Selora walked behind Luke as they exited the chapel.
"That took time," Luke noted, and Selora rolled her eyes behind him.
"Well… You told him a lot. He said I needed serious prayers." She lied through her teeth, and Luke turned to give her a look for the tone of her voice, but Selora wasn't one bit bothered about him or his reactions.
She just got a few more sin points and a brand new reward that she was itching to use.
The weekend was just starting. Finally, she had time to step away from Isabel's school schedule and focus on what truly mattered: finding the relics she needed to get the power she wanted.
As Selora and Luke got into Luke's car and drove off, Selora couldn't see the dual colored pupils watching her from the bushes just in the distance. One blood red eye, and the other blue like vicious ice.
Selora stared at the humans who walked by, but she remained oblivious to the one force she was supposed to see… Supposed to notice… Supposed to avoid.
Of all the beings that she didn't need to find her… He was the worst. And he had already found her.
*******
Selora went over her plans for the day in her head. She had to get to the town's library first. It wasn't just a building. It was one of the reasons she came to this busy town in the first place. Her investigations and hunts for the seven dark relics so far, pointed to this town.
She was more than certain that she would find the third relic here. She knew she wasn't the only demon searching for these relics, because they were the key to power that almost every demon dreamed of.
Whoever could find, combine and hone all seven relics would become the new ruler of hell.
The new demon king or queen.
Her father and some other powerful demons were entrusted to hide the seven relics on earth when the rulers of hell feared that heaven was up to no good. This was done to give hell a chance of rebirth if all went awry. And here they were. Hell ruined. Just as the leaders of hell feared.
But it wouldn't be so for long… Selora wouldn't let it.
Even if other demons had managed to get their hands on the remaining five relics, she would rip them apart to have them. She'd spent years tracing whispers, decoding curses, chasing ruins, blood trails and shadows to find them, and she wasn't going to let all that hard work go to waste.
So far, she had found two out of the seven relics.
The Dagger of Drought—a blade that drained the life of anything it cut.
The Mirror of Malekai— a cursed relic that reflected one's darkest desire and could trap souls.
That left five, and somehow, she was sure she would find the third relic here, in this town, with the library giving her the first clue. The remaining five relics she had to find were;
*The Thorned Halo: A cracked, blood-rusted crown from a fallen angel. It granted the power to manipulate minds, but each use destroyed empathy.
Selora had seen it once, in a vision... resting on a pile of ash and skulls. She needed it, even if it meant sacrificing the last shred of compassion she pretended to have.
Then, there was The Grimoire of Hollow Tongues: A book written in the first tongue. It taught the history and birth of the demon realm, as well as how to tear the realm apart.
*The Chain of Gorgamos: Shackles that once bound a demon prince. Wearing it granted invulnerability... at the cost of freedom.
*The Emberheart: A black crystal that could restore life to any demon; however, with each use, hell weakened.
*The Veil of Mourning: A cloak of shadows that hid its wearer from all holy sight... but caused creeping insanity.
These relics were useless alone. Each one dormant. Their true power could only be unlocked when all seven were united. And that was Selora's plan… to gather them, fuse them, and rise as the new Demon Queen.
These hellish items were all hidden, cursed, and locked behind riddles no human should ever solve.
But Selora wasn't human. And she had plans of her own.
Plans she couldn't let fail, no matter what.
Selora had just gotten to the door when that annoying voice she was beginning to hatefully get used to, rang through the room.
"Where are you going?!"
Selora turned on her heels, and saw Luke and Isabel's mother sitting in the living room, watching TV.
Selora bit the inside of her cheek in annoyance for always forgetting they exist and that Isabel wasn't an independent person who's body she could use as she pleased. These two were going to become hurdles in her path if she didn't find a solution for them.
"And why are you dressed like that, dear? Have you forgotten what happened with the bus station pervert?" Isabel's mother Mira, added, and Selora looked down at her body.
She was wearing one of Isabel's dresses which she had cut into a short dress that was several inches up her thighs. There was no way these people would let her leave the house like this.
"There must be something wrong with you, Isabel! Just this morning, the Father superior prayed for you. And you're still doing this!?" Luke raged, and Selora battled a smirk.
"It was more like he prayed to me." She whispered under her breath, and although Luke couldn't hear what she said, he didn't fancy the idea of his daughter talking back at him.
"What did you say?!" He raged, and Selora looked up at him. Already bored by his irritating, predictable actions and reactions.
"Go back to your room. You're not going anywhere! I don't know what has gotten into you, but I will force it out of you!" He raged, and this time, Selora laughed.
She laughed hard, and disrespectfully.
If only he knew. If only the shallow, egocentric fool knew… Yes. Something had indeed gotten into his daughter. Something he couldn't even begin to fathom. But thinking he could cast her out of Isabel? Now that was clownery at it's finest.
Selora comes in invited, but she only ever leaves when she wants to.
Luke marched over to Selora with rage bubbling in his guts at the mockery of her laughter, and without sparing a second for prediction, he threw a slap across her face.